Need help in choosing herbs for first herb garden

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I plan to build a small raised bed at the end of my clothes line right outside our screened back porch, and plan it to be my very first ever herb garden.

I am the one with SO MANY life threatening allergies and would like to grow both medicinal and "food" herbs.

Please tell me what herbs YOU grow and why, and how you use them!

Thanks so much!!!! wish me luck!!!

-- Suzy in Bama (slgt@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002

Answers

1. Echinacea angustafolia and Echinacea purpuria...make tea from the roots for general anti cold/flu tonic. Immune system booster and beautiful plants. Also use the green seed heads for natural novacaine.

2. Feverfew -- the one in the daisy family...i think the genus is leucanthamum. It looks pretty and you can make a fever fighting tonic from the dried leaves.

3. Boneset from the Eupatorium genus .. Joe Pye-weed. Make poultices from its crushed leaves for bruises and swelling due to impact.

4. Salix species for aspirin...oops that is a tree or shrub.

5. Rosemary, both erect and repens varieties for seasoning meat, especially goat and lamb, but also chicken and beef.

6. tymes traditional and scented varieties for seasoning.

7. a couple of oregano's for seasoning

8. at least 5 miints, but plant them in 2 foot long pieces of culvert in the ground to keep them from taking over for mint juleps of course, not to mention upset stomach (mint tea) etc.

9. dill

10. fennell

11. basil

12. painted daisy -- make a tea of crushed material to use as an insecticide.

13. Lemon Balm.

14. Lemon Grass

15. Cilantro/coriander

We have lots of space

Have fun

Oscar

-- Oscar H. Will III (owill@mail.whittier.edu), February 10, 2002.


I don't have a large herb garden right now, but there are a few standby's which I would not do without-

Dill- use it mostly in leek and potato soup; and in salads;

Cilantro- a must have for pico de gallo, which I use in practically everything (omelets; french bread pizzas; with chips; on any kind of tortilla dish; salads; sandwhiches; etc);

Parsley- cannot grow enough! Use a lot in tabbouleh;

Basil- pesto

Chives- use in just about everything, too! Cannot grow enough aliums.

Lots of mints- I use a sprig in iced tea, mint juleps on Kentucky derby Day; in salads with fresh strawberries; but mostly enjoy the scent, and the bees like it.

Usually one or two plants each of rosemary, thyme, sage. No oregano because I don't like it.

Also, could not do without my bay plant (I think it is really a shrub or tree. Mine is still pretty small).

-- Elizabeth (ekfla@aol.com), February 10, 2002.


so far,, chives and catnip,, why?? only things that have taken so far

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), February 10, 2002.

Oh! oh! oh! oh! .... do some lavender too. I don't even know if it's an herb, but oh well...Wonderful stuff in your house. And helps keep bugs away. Eventually beautiful in bushes that blush with fragrance as you brush by them on your walk down the path. I can't wait to start mine. I plan to dry them and sell them in bunches tied with a ribbon. I think you can use it in vinegar? I will be putting them everywhere the dogs go too (flea bitten varmints that they are). Sigh,,if spring doesn't come soon i'm gonna melt away with wearyness. HEY STAN! Catnip? hee hee hee. Never had any choice but to grow catnip, it just comes up by itself whenever, wherever, whyever it wants to. I hope you don't fertilize yours. It's not necessary ya know. About chives, I always knew when my oldest daughter was visiting the neighbors, she came back smelling of chive nibbeling. Fond memory, thanks,

-- Susan in Northern Michigan (cobwoman@yahoo.com), February 10, 2002.

Wow! You got some great replies! I would just add to that, Lavender. Makes wonderful cookies, is pretty and smells great too. Don't you just love it when the dog runs through the mint? Or you water it? I have it all around my front porch under the Daphne and Rhodies. YUM. I do have a question for you. Your allergies? I know you have probably ruled out allergies to these herbs? I mentioned that because my cousin who just loves her herbs came down with a mysterious illness and she thought she was getting bitten by spiders or whatever. After having the classic symtoms of anaphylatic shock and a trip to the emergency room it was determined that she was allergic to plants in the mint family. And that covers a lot of herbs. Good luck with your herb garden, you are going to have a great time! LQ

-- Little Quacker (carouselxing@juno.com), February 10, 2002.


If you have allergies, be especially careful with echinacea and chammomile.

-- vicki in NW OH (thga76@aol.com), February 11, 2002.

Well, most of the basic herbs have been mentioned and a lot of the not so basic. I would add lemon balm, tarragon, Lady's mantle, hoarhound, garlic chives, bee balm, yarrow, summer and winter savories, borage and comfrey as other possibilities. (My apologies if any of these were mentioned before and I missed them.) Much depends on space, preference and taste. Lemon Balm was one of the first herbs I ever grew - about 35 years ago - and I still love it. It makes a lovely tea and has some wonderful medicinal applications. Tarragon is a great culinary herb. Lady's Mantle is beautiful and is a healing herb for feminine ailments. Hoarhound makes a cough and lung medicine in the form of tea, syrup or lozenges. Hoarhound is bitter, but with a lot of honey it has a flavor that many people like (I do). Garlic chives are delicious, bee balm has beautiful flowers that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds and can be used for tea. Yarrow is a medicinal herb useful in tea for fevers and flu and has pretty flowers which are sometimes used in dried arrangements. Summer and Winter Savory are culinary herbs, useful in salads, soups and bean dishes. Borage is cucumber flavored and is used medicinally as a pick-me-up-calm-me-down and in fever reducing blends. However, it has prickly leaves and if you suffer from allergies, be careful it could cause a contact allergy. Comfrey is just about miraculous for EXTERNAL healing. Poultices of leaves or roots, tinctures, or salves work wonders on aches, pains, arthritis, broken bones, sprains, strains and even some skin problems. Comfrey also has very prickly leaves so be careful and use gloves when handling, but it is worth the effort for its healing properties. Also, make sure it is growing where you want it forever and give it lots of space. A note on feverfew, it is not used medicinally for fevers. It is nearly a wonder drug for migraines, but the name feverfew is most likely a corruption of "featherfew." It is really not helpful for fevers. White willow, meadowsweet, yarrow, elderflower, and wintergreen are good choices for fever. For a first herb garden, probably the best choices are, as mentioned before, Parsley, Thyme, Chives, Mint, Lavender, Lemon Balm, Tarragon, Sage, Basil, Summer and Winter Savories, and Bee Balm. Just think of the herbs that you most frequently cook with and those are the best for you to start with. If you start with a few basics, then you can add one or two every year. Take the time to learn each herb you grow, there is tremendous pleasure in an herb garden. If you have any questions, ask on the list or email me privately, I am happy to help, if I can.

-- nancy (stoneground@catskill.net), February 11, 2002.

Hello Suzy,

I grow a few herbs for making herb vinegars and for seasoning our foods we eat and can. I also grow comfrey for my chickens...they love it!

Sincerely,

Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.


Boy, did you get a lot of excellent replies! Hard to find anything to add. If the plant has a square stem (four sided) it is a member of the mint family. Rosemary also has many medicinal properties as well as being a great seasoning. I like to throw a spring in the water when I'm boiling potatoes. For making vinegars I like Rubin Basil (purple). It makes a wonderful tasting vinegar, and retains its bright burgundy colour. Calendula is one that many people overlook. It is a variety of marigold (Calendula officinalis) and the petals are edible. It is also used as a dye and as a healing agent in soaps.

There are so many. Before you use any herb for culinary or medicinal purposes make sure you have the plant correctly identified. Get your plants from a reliable source. Also, be careful using them. Even though medicinal herbs are herbs, they are medicine! Just as many medications cannot be taken with grapefruit juice, herbs can react with each other, or with other medications you take. Herbs are wonderful, but be careful.

-- Bernie from Northern Ontario (bernadette_kerr@hotmail.com), February 11, 2002.


Feverfew is also good for migraines, but should be avoided if you have hay fever. :) Good luck with your garden

-- Toni (dabblmom@aol.co,), February 11, 2002.


I would suggest Sage as it is easy to grow and comes back each year, it is great for seasoning and also has medinical properties. Lemon Balm is very good choice also...and don't for get Basil...I love the smell of fresh Basil when you brush againist it, it is soothing for the soul!!!! Happy Gardening.

-- Plant Lady (the_plant_lady@centurytel.net), February 11, 2002.

Sage makes a great tea which WILL help you to breath if you are congested or asthmatic.

-- kathy h (ckhart55@earthlink.net), February 12, 2002.

Suzy, I just checked this book out of the library and thought of you. It is Southern Herb Growing by Madalene Hill and Gwen Barclay. This would be a great book for you to look through since some herbs may or may not grow as well for you in Alabama. It's a really beautiful book. It's divided into 3 parts: A primer giving basic info on growing herbs, a growing guide with lots of pictures of the herbs, and a recipe section so you can make some yummy food with the "fruits of your labor". Good Luck!

-- Bren (wayoutfarm@skybest.com), February 12, 2002.

A few things that I put in my herb garden (but I'm not really sure if they would be considered herbs or vegetables) are salad burnet and sorrel. They will both spice up a salad - salad burnet adds a cucumber taste and sorrel adds a spicy lemon taste. They are both small plants, which helps in a small garden. If you want a very large plant to hide something (like your compost bin) grow some lovage. It tastes like celery. I dry the leaves and use them in place of celery in the winter. Sweet woodruff will grow happily in shady places and sweetens a tea nicely, adding a very fresh taste that brings summer into your winter teas. In my first herb garden I had thyme, savory (winter, I think), chives, sage, and salad burnet, but had I known about it I would have had sorrel also. The mints are great but very invasive. Actually, thyme can be invasive (my sister- in-law had an entire backyard of thyme that had escaped from the previous owner's herb garden and taken over). I grow my basil in a garden box on my side porch where the local fauna are less likely to partake of it! Have fun with your new garden!

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), February 15, 2002.

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